Patriarchal Suppression through the Images of Holocaust in the Poetry of Sylvia Plath

Authors

  • Arjete Luani (Rripa) University of Shkoder “Luigj Gurakuqi” Faculty of Foreign Languages.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to give the degree of patriarchal suppression by comparing it to Holocaust, one of the most traumatic episodes by comparing it to Holocaust, in which she is a Jew and her father and husband a Nazi. Why did Plath choose Holocaust to show her psychological suppression? Was it fair to have such comparison? It is the psychological approach that explains this: projection and transference. This means that Plath identifies herself with the victims of Holocaust, the Jews, which was very common for the Jews who underwent the tortures of the Nazi, and, at the same time, she passes her identity and that of her father and husband while she makes the comparison. These images prevail in Plath’s two most powerful poems: “Daddy” and “Lady Lazarus”. Plath began writing for Holocaust after April 1962, the year in which she broke her poetic silence and got revolted against the psychological isolation caused by the death of her father and by her broken relationship with her husband, Ted Hughes. The challenge against the male authority goes to the edges when she is resurrected, after she becomes ash.

Keywords: Holocaust, Jew, Nazi, victim, male suppression.

References

Freeman. J. ed. (1999). Women “A Feminist Perspective”. 4th ed. California: Mayfield Publishing Company.

Friedan, B. (1963). The Feminine Mystique. New York: Dell Publishing.

Kendall. T. (2001). Sylvia Plath: A Critical Study. New York: Faber & Faber.

Malcom. J. (2005). The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath & Ted Hughes. London: Granta Books.

Orr, P. ed. (1966) The poet speaks: interviews with contemporary poets conducted by Hilary Morrish, Peter Orr, John Press and Ian Scott-Kilvert. London:Routledge & K. Paul.

Plath, S. (2004). Ariel: The Restored Edition. New York: HarperPerennial / Modern Classics.

Plath, S. (1992). The Collected Poems. New York: HarperPerennial, 1992.

Plath, S. (1992). Letters Home. Aurelia Plath (Ed.). New York: HarperPerennial.

Rose, J. (1992). The Hunting of Sylvia Plath. USA: Harvard University Press.

Rosenthal. M. L. (1991). Our Life in Poetry: Selected Essays & Reviews. New York: Persea Books.

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Published

2018-08-08

How to Cite

(Rripa), A. L. (2018). Patriarchal Suppression through the Images of Holocaust in the Poetry of Sylvia Plath. ANGLISTICUM. Journal of the Association-Institute for English Language and American Studies, 7(7), 10–21. Retrieved from https://anglisticum.org.mk/index.php/IJLLIS/article/view/1730

Issue

Section

Volume 7, No.7, July, 2018